The Real Thing
by Romione4Life
Summary: An AU fic in which Harry and Ron have never met Hermione. Ron thinks the new girl at the Ministry is the perfect girlfriend at first, but it turns out that she might not be quite what he's looking for. Could there be another woman who's right for him?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: The plot for this story largely draws from the plot of "Family Ties" episodes 1 and 2 of season 4, (also called "The Real Thing," hence the title of my story,) but you don't have to be familiar with the TV show to understand it. Also, some characters will probably be a little OOC to make it work better (e.g., Lavender doesn't seem much like the Ministry worker type).**

**Disclaimer: As much as I wish I did, I don't own Harry Potter or Family Ties!**

* * *

The biggest news on Monday morning at the Ministry of Magic was that there was a new girl in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Lavender Brown was her name, and she was rumored to be, in a word, attractive. So Ron Weasley made up his mind to go welcome her.

He headed down to her department during his lunch break. When he walked around a corner, he ran into a young woman, causing her to drop the stack of papers she was carrying.

"Sorry," Ron apologized, bending down to help pick up the papers. In the process, he surreptitiously glanced at the woman. With dark brown eyes and curly, slightly bushy brown hair, she wasn't drop-dead gorgeous, but she was still quite pretty. So he decided to take a chance.

"Lavender Brown?" he asked.

The woman sighed impatiently. "Lavender's at lunch. I'm one of her co-workers, Hermione Granger."

"Ron Weasley," Ron introduced himself. "Could you let Lavender know I was here? I had an appointment with her, but she must have forgotten."

"I'll do that," Hermione said as she collected the last paper and stood up. Ron got to his feet as well and brushed off his robes.

"Actually, on second thought, I'll wait for her to get back," he said.

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Don't you have other work to do?"

"It's my lunch break right now," Ron said.

"A moment ago you told me you had an appointment with Lavender," Hermione said.

"Erm…" Ron said, looking flustered. "What I meant was that the appointment was during –"

"I know why you're here, Ron," Hermione interrupted. "You're just like the fourteen other guys who have stopped by here today. You heard Lavender was good-looking, and you wanted to get a date with her."

"Excuse me, but I happen to be an Auror!" Ron said indignantly.

"So that makes your intentions better than everyone else's?" Hermione said icily. "Look, I happen to know that Lavender doesn't have any meetings or appointments today since it's her first day."

"I could report you to the Minister of Magic, you know!" Ron threatened, his voice rising.

"For what? Telling the truth?" Hermione countered.

"For being an arrogant, patronizing, presumptuous idiot!" Ron yelled. He turned on his heel and came face-to-face with a blonde-haired girl who could only be Lavender. She was staring at him in bewilderment.

Ron quickly plastered a weak smile on his face and held out his hand. "Ronald Weasley. Welcome to the Ministry."

* * *

Despite their disastrous first meeting, Lavender agreed to a date with Ron. She turned out to be a bubby, enthusiastic person who Ron enjoyed being around. But there was something about their relationship that wasn't quite right. Ron sat pondering what it was one day at lunch while Lavender babbled on.

"What do you think?" Lavender asked suddenly.

"Hmm?" Ron said, turning to look at her.

"I asked you what color dress robes I should wear to the Ministry ball next weekend!" Lavender said.

"Er… Um… Green," Ron suggested.

"That would clash horribly with your hair, though," Lavender objected.

"Fine, then. How about orange?"

"Oh, Ron," Lavender giggled. "You're so clueless sometimes." She leaned across the table to give him a kiss, but then pulled away to wave at someone behind his shoulder.

"Hermione!" she called brightly. "Come sit with us! You don't mind, do you?" she added to Ron.

"Not at all," Ron said, though the idea of sitting with Hermione made him uncomfortable.

Hermione walked over to the table and pulled up a chair. She smiled at them awkwardly.

"Now, Hermione," Lavender began conversationally. "What color dress robes do _you_ think I should wear to the Ministry ball? I was considering either light pink or white…"

Hermione caught Ron's eye and grinned, for real this time. "I think you should choose the white ones," she said when Lavender paused to take a breath.

"Good idea," Lavender agreed. "So have you decided what you're wearing to the ball? You're going, right?"

"Yeah, I'm going," Hermione said. "I'll probably wear my blue dress robes."

"Is Viktor coming too?" Lavender wanted to know.

"No, he can't make it," Hermione said.

"That's a shame," Lavender said. "I've heard so much about him. I was looking forward to meeting him!"

Hermione opened her mouth to answer, but she was interrupted by a Ministry worker approaching their table.

"Ms. Granger?" he said.

"That's me," Hermione said. "Can I help you?"

"I have an urgent message from the Minister," the worker said. "He requests that you meet with him about your proposed bill on house-elf rights."

"Thank you," Hermione said. She looked at Ron and Lavender. "If you two would excuse me…"

"No problem," Lavender said cheerfully. "Good luck!" As Hermione got up and left, Lavender reached across the table and took Ron's hand. "What's wrong?" she said. "You've been awfully quiet."

Ron didn't answer. "Who's Viktor?" he said instead.

"Viktor Krum? He's Hermione's boyfriend. He lives in Bulgaria, but they've been dating for a couple years now and I think they're going to get married. Isn't that nice?"

Ron glanced in the direction Hermione had gone. "Yeah. Nice," he said vaguely.

* * *

A few days later, Ron ran into Hermione as she was leaving her department after work.

"Looking for Lavender?" Hermione guessed.

"How did you know?" Ron said jokingly.

Hermione laughed. "She left early today," she said. "She claimed she was exhausted and wasn't being productive, but I think she just wanted to go shopping." Hermione rolled her eyes and flicked her wand to extinguish the lights in her office.

"I wouldn't be surprised if she did," Ron said. "By the way, how did your meeting with the Minister go?"

"Not very well, actually," Hermione said with a sigh. "He said I need to revise my proposal and add more support to it."

Ron cleared his throat. "Well, I – I got you something that might help." He reached into the pocket of his robes and withdrew a book entitled _Elf Emancipation: Why These Loyal Creatures Deserve More._

"You got this for me?" Hermione said, taking the book and examining it.

"I know it's not much, but I thought you'd like it," Ron said.

"It's perfect!" Hermione assured him, looking up at him and beaming. "This will give me plenty of arguments to add to my proposal. Thank you."

"You're welcome," Ron said. "Hey, Hermione, I was wondering… Since Lavender is apparently busy right now, would you like to go to The Three Broomsticks with me? As friends, of course," he added hastily.

Hermione seemed surprised at the invitation. "You mean it?" she said.

"Sure," Ron said. "It's no fun going out by myself."

"All right," Hermione agreed. "Why don't we go home and change first? I'll meet you there in an hour."

"Sounds good," Ron said. "See you soon."


	2. Chapter 2

One hour later, as promised, Hermione showed up at the Three Broomsticks. She had changed into more casual robes and pulled her hair back.

"Hi," she said as she dropped into the seat across from Ron.

"Hey," Ron said. He considered telling her how nice she looked, but decided that would sound too flirtatious. "I ordered you a butterbeer. I hope you don't mind," he said instead.

"That's fine, thanks," Hermione replied. She brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "How was work?"

"All right," Ron answered. "The most exciting thing that happened was that some Muggles needed minor memory modifications after seeing a wizard flying on a broomstick."

"Wow. I always imagined the Aurors to have adventurous, action-filled jobs," Hermione commented.

"Me too," Ron said with a laugh. "But the Wizarding world has been pretty quiet now that Voldemort is gone. There is still the occasional Dark witch or wizard to take care of though."

Just then, their drinks arrived. Hermione and Ron accepted the tall glasses of frothy butterbeer.

"So, is there any particular reason why you decided to ask me out – as friends?" Hermione asked, sipping her drink.

"I just want to get to know you," Ron said. "I feel like our relationship got off to a bad start, and I think we should make amends."

"Well, what do you want to know about me?" Hermione said.

"Anything and everything," Ron said.

Hermione looked at him for several seconds as if considering how much she could reveal to him. Then she launched into her tale.

"I don't have any siblings. I think that's one of the biggest reasons why I was the way I was growing up. I told myself, if your parents are only having a single child, then that child should be one they can be proud of. For that reason, I worked hard every day in school so I wouldn't disappoint them."

Hermione talked for a while on her childhood, including the obstacles she faced because of her magical abilities.

"One day," she said, "I lent a book to a girl named Linda. She returned it to me completely torn in half. It seemed like too much damage to be an accident, so I got really angry. The next thing I knew, Linda's skin had turned bright green. It merely lasted for about five minutes before going back to normal, but that was enough time for the rest of my class to see what I'd done. From that day on, the other kids avoided me like the plague. They even started calling me a witch. Little did they know how right they were."

Ron's drink sat forgotten on the table. He'd never expected Hermione to tell him this much, but he didn't care. He was totally mesmerized by her story.

Hermione next described finding out about the existence of the magical world and her place in it. She spoke of how she was relieved to have an explanation for her strange abilities, but also terrified that her parents would be upset about having a witch for a daughter. Luckily, they were just as elated as she was.

As Hermione was about to begin recounting her days learning magic, she happened to catch sight of the time and blushed when she realized how long they'd been there.

"I'm so sorry," she apologized. "I've said far too much. You're probably bored out of your mind."

"Oh, no," Ron said sincerely. "That was fascinating. You see, I'm a pureblood wizard, so I know very little about Muggles."

"I expect my life was very different from a normal Muggle's life," Hermione said.

"It was still interesting to hear your story. I never thought about how weird magic would seem to outsiders. I grew up around people who were used to magic, so I didn't have problems with that. It must have been rough for you, having all those things happen and nobody understanding them."

"It certainly wasn't easy," Hermione agreed, "but it was worth it."

And in that moment, Ron knew he now had a much higher admiration for and understanding of Hermione. It just went to show, as cliché as it sounded, that first impressions aren't always accurate.

* * *

Having enjoyed his non-romantic date with Hermione, it was with regret that Ron got ready for the Ministry ball in his friend Harry Potter's flat. He wasn't in the mood to be around Lavender at all.

"Harry?" he said.

"Hmm?" Harry said absentmindedly, tugging on his shoe.

"What would you do if you were mad for a girl, but both of you were already seeing someone?"

"I assume you're talking about yourself," Harry said. "Who is this girl?"

"Her name's Hermione Granger, and she works down in Lavender's department. She's a stuck-up know-it-all, she's absolutely infuriating, and I'm completely in love with her," Ron said.

"She doesn't seem like your type," Harry said, looking bemused.

"But she is!" Ron said earnestly. "She might seem like a haughty, independent, fiery woman, yet underneath it all she's actually a sweet, innocent girl. I like that about her."

"Why don't you ask her out?" Harry suggested.

"I already told you," Ron said exasperatedly, "she has a boyfriend. And according to Lavender, they're most likely going to get married."

"Tough luck, mate," Harry said sympathetically. "Nothing you can do about that."

"That's what I was afraid of," Ron muttered.

* * *

"You look simply dashing tonight," Lavender gushed to Ron as the two of them spun around on the dance floor. "Blue really brings out your eyes."

Ron glanced down at his dress robes. He wondered if, subconsciously, he'd chosen to wear the same color robes as Hermione on purpose. Where was she, anyway?

"Thanks," he mumbled.

"Are you feeling okay, Ron?" Lavender asked concernedly.

"Yeah. I just have a – a sore throat, that's all," Ron said.

"Oh," Lavender said. They lapsed into silence for the remainder of the song. When it finished, Lavender pulled away from Ron.

"I have to go to the bathroom. Will you be all right until I get back?" she said.

"Of course," Ron said. "No problem. I'll just go get some pumpkin juice while I wait."

Lavender smiled, gave him a kiss on the cheek, and rushed off. Ron strolled over to the refreshment table until he saw her. Hermione was standing against the wall, dressed in elegant, midnight blue robes, and her hair fell in soft waves around her shoulders. Abandoning his cup of pumpkin juice, Ron approached her.

"Hello," he said.

"Hello," she replied.

"You look…" _Beautiful?_ _Stunning? Breathtaking? _"You look good."

"Thank you," Hermione said. Ron groaned mentally. _That's the best you could do? _he reprimanded himself.

"What are you doing over here by yourself?" he said aloud.

Hermione shrugged. "No one's asked me to dance."

Ron found this hard to believe. "Well, I can fix that," he said. "Would you care to dance, Hermione?"

"What about Lavender?" Hermione said.

"She's in the bathroom," Ron said. "She won't care." He held out his hand, and Hermione took it, allowing him to lead her to an open spot.

Suddenly, Ron felt nervous. He was about to dance with Hermione. Hermione Granger, the girl he'd threatened to report to the Minister of Magic. What if she laughed at his dancing? What if he stepped on her feet? There were numerous things that could go wrong…

Ron tentatively placed his hands on Hermione's waist. She wrapped her arms loosely around his neck. Together, they began to sway to the music.

"Hermione?" Ron said after a few moments.

"Yes?" Hermione said.

Ron hesitated. "Nothing," he said.

A minute later, he made another attempt. "Hermione?"

"Yes?" Hermione said again.

_Do it, _Ron commanded himself. Before he could change his mind, he leaned in and pressed his lips to Hermione's. He felt her kiss him back for several glorious seconds, but then she abruptly took a step back.

"Hermione," Ron said uncertainly.

"I need to go," Hermione said. She whirled around and disappeared into the crowd, leaving a confused and dejected Ron behind her.

"Was that Hermione Granger?" Lavender asked, appearing at Ron's side. "Where is she running off to?"

"Beats me," Ron lied.

"She probably had to leave early to pack," Lavender mused.

"Pack for what?" Ron said sharply.

"She didn't tell you? Maybe she doesn't want anyone to know yet," Lavender said.

"Know what?" Ron demanded, seizing Lavender's shoulders.

Lavender bit her lip and lowered her voice. "Hermione got a letter from Viktor asking her to marry him, and she said yes. She's leaving for Bulgaria tomorrow."

"_Tomorrow?_" Ron repeated.

"It's wonderful, don't you think?" Lavender said happily, misinterpreting Ron's disbelief as excitement.

_No_, Ron thought. It was _not_ wonderful. This was worse than what he'd feared would happen. Everything about the current situation was so wrong. And he couldn't see any way to make it right.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** **I am so sorry it took me this long to finish the story! I didn't update it for a little while and then I completely forgot about it. Anyway, I don't love the ending of this, but hopefully it's all right. Thanks for the reviews, favorites, and follows, and again, I'm very sorry!**

* * *

The scene from the Ministry ball played over and over in Ron's mind the next day. He wished he had a chance to take it all back. Because he knew he was responsible for much of the blame.

Why had he kissed Hermione when he was the one reminding Harry that she had a boyfriend? When he'd known in the back of his mind the whole time that she was practically engaged already?

Still, at least some of this mess had to be Hermione's fault. She had kissed him back at first, after all. And she was definitely rushing into this marriage. Sure, she and Viktor had been dating for a while, but nobody had their wedding less than a week after the proposal. Did they?

Ron really wanted to meet this Viktor Krum. What was so amazing about him that Hermione felt the urge to marry him so soon? He lived in Bulgaria, for Merlin's sake! How often had the two of them even gotten together?

Ron groaned and put his head in his hands. He needed to talk to Hermione, but he had no way of contacting her. And by the next time he saw her at work, she would already be Mrs. Krum.

Why did love – and life – have to be so complicated?

* * *

"I ruined everything," Ron moaned to Harry. He was flopped out on his best friend's bed, staring forlornly at the ceiling.

"You keep saying that," Harry said, fighting to remain patient, "and yet you won't tell me exactly what it is you've ruined."

"Hermione's leaving today – or she might have already left – to go to Bulgaria to marry Viktor Krum," Ron said.

"I don't see what that has to do with you," Harry said.

"I was – am – in love with her," Ron said.

"You've told me that before!" Harry said in exasperation.

"Yes, but things are a lot more complicated now. I kissed her at the Ministry ball," Ron said.

"You kissed her?" Harry echoed. "And you think that ruined everything?"

"Obviously," Ron snapped. "She probably hates me now. But I wouldn't know for sure. She ran off after it happened."

"All right, calm down," Harry said. "I was just trying to sort this out."

"So what do I do?" Ron said.

"I'd go talk to her if I were you. Assuming she's still home, that is."

"How exactly am I supposed to find her?"

"Her flat's right down the hall."

Ron sat bolt upright. "_WHAT?_" he cried.

"Yeah, she lives a couple doors down," Harry said.

Ron figured he must've unknowingly swallowed a bottle of Felix Felicis. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I didn't think of it," Harry said defensively. "I thought her name sounded familiar when you first mentioned it, and I finally remembered why."

"Merlin's beard, Harry!" Ron exclaimed. "You're lucky I have to leave now. Otherwise I might've killed you."

"Just go!" Harry said. Ron didn't need to be told twice. He jumped to his feet and dashed out the door. Harry followed him.

"Two doors down, on the left," Harry said.

Ron halted in front of Hermione's door. He raised his fist and knocked on it. Several seconds later, Hermione opened the door.

"Ron," she said in disbelief. "Why are you here?"

"I think you know why," Ron said. "Can I come in?"

Hermione sighed. "I really don't have time for this. My Portkey leaves soon."

"Please," Ron begged.

"Fine," Hermione relented. "But make it quick." She stepped back and opened the door wider to let Ron in. Ron saw her luggage stacked neatly on a sofa next to a cracked vase that he assumed was the Portkey. He swallowed nervously and turned to Hermione.

"The kiss," he said before Hermione could speak. "_Our_ kiss. What was that about?"

"Why are you asking me?" Hermione said, crossing her arms. "You initiated it."

"_You_ allowed it. You even returned it," Ron reminded her. "You can't expect me to forget that fact."

"All right," Hermione said. "I'll give you my reasons if you give me yours."

"Deal," Ron agreed. "You first."

Hermione took a deep breath. "I kissed you back because I was questioning my engagement to Viktor," she said. "I wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do, and I was conflicted because I was starting to feel something for you. But now I know I was wrong. I love Viktor, and I want to marry him. He's the one I'm meant to be with."

Ron moved so that he was standing close to Hermione, staring directly at her. "You're lying," he stated.

Hermione looked shocked, but quickly composed herself. "How dare you say that!" she said angrily.

"It's true. I can tell," Ron said. "You know what? I think you're only marrying Viktor because you're insecure. You felt like no one cared about you, so when someone finally did, you clung onto them. But there are other people who love and support you. People like… like me."

Ron took both of Hermione's hands in his. "That's why I kissed you," he said softly. "I've fallen head over heels in love with you, and I have so much more to offer you than Viktor."

"You can't say that," Hermione said. "You've never even met him. You have no idea what he's like."

She turned and tried to pull away, but Ron only gripped her hands tighter. "Look at me," he commanded. "Look me in the eye and tell me you don't feel anything for me."

Hermione gazed up at Ron and opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.

"Just tell me," Ron begged. He wanted to get this over with. "Say you don't love me, and I'll let you go marry Viktor. No more questions asked."

"I… I can't," Hermione whispered at last. "You were right. Everything you've said is true." A tear began to roll down her cheek. "I made a mistake in agreeing to marry Viktor. The short time I've had with you has been better than all the years I've spent with him."

"It's not too late," Ron said. "You can still change things."

Hermione nodded and let go of Ron's hands. She left the room and came back a few minutes later with a piece of parchment. She slid the paper inside the broken vase. Not a moment later, the Portkey glowed blue and vanished.

"Was that –" Ron started.

"A note to Viktor," Hermione finished. "I told him I'm sorry, but I'm not coming for the wedding, and I'll explain more later."

"You're staying?" Ron said in amazement.

"What part of 'I'm not coming for the wedding' don't you understand?" Hermione said. "Yes, I'm staying."

Ron let out a sigh of relief. He picked Hermione up by the waist and spun her around, then set her down and kissed her fiercely. This time, Hermione not only allowed the kiss to go on for quite a long time, she also returned it enthusiastically and let it deepen. Ron was absolutely elated.

"Just don't make me regret this decision," Hermione warned once they had separated.

"I wouldn't dream of it," Ron said. "And Hermione… Thanks for listening. I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders."

Hermione smiled and reached up to kiss him again. "Anytime."


End file.
